Club debt could force transfer and see Watford make €2.4m early next week

Over the past week, we have covered in a lot of detail the absolute mess that is currently going on in Spain regarding the potential future of Watford loanee Juanfran.

The 28-year-old, who is on his third loan at Deportivo La Coruña, is the number one target on the list of right-backs for Barcelona were they to exercise their right to sign an emergency player outside of the transfer window following Aleix Vidal’s long-term injury.

There are some strange clauses in the deal, but, if all goes to plan, Watford are likely to end up with €2.4m in their bank by the beginning of next week.

On Thursday, La Voz de Galicia claimed the Hornets had included a clause stipulating that if a bid was made for the player, regardless of whether it was accepted or rejected, 30% of it would have to be paid to Watford.

Plus, the fact Deportivo are forced to pay a €1m buy-out clause for the loan at the end of the season means any bid of around €3m would be enough to trigger it.

However, according to Sport on Friday, the La Liga club have made it clear they would not sell for anything less than €8m, a pre-agreed release clause for the player for when he becomes a Deportivo player next season, and that’s where things stand right now.

The problem for the Spanish side, and great news for Watford, is their debt, which means any bid that makes financial sense for them will need to be accepted.

So, if Barcelona were to pay €8m, 30% of that (€2.4m) would go to Watford, which is around €1.4m more than what they would have received had Deportivo just paid the clause at the end of the season.

The La Liga champions are said to see the financial sense in the operation, as they believe they can sell him for the same price, or more, in the summer, but will only go for the player next week if results go their way this weekend.

Basically, Watford will be wanting Real Madrid to lose and Barcelona to win for this transfer to go through, and they will want the Catalan club to pay full price for a player that has never made a professional appearance for them.